Legacy
by Synthesis Landale
Summary: KirkSpock slash. Now that Kirk is dead, can Spock use the memory of their love to improve conditions for gay Starfleet officers?


Title: Legacy  
Author: Synthesis Landale  
Feedback to: synth3sis@yahoo.co.uk  
Beta: Farfalla (Thanks for your help and support with this fic, and sorry I left it to gather dust on my hard drive for so long after you beta read it!)  
Pairing: K/S  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Star Trek is not mine. It belongs to Paramount. I just watch it to drool at Spock. In addition, the scene with Spock on Viridian III is part borrowed from William Shatner's book, "The Ashes of Eden". Of course, I've added to and taken from, but it deserves credit.  
Summary: Kirk and Spock, separated by death, still have something to teach the world, and a legacy to impart on those who will come after them. 

Legacy

"Please continue with your duties, gentlemen."

The two ensigns looked mortally embarrassed to have been caught kissing in the corridor.

"Sorry, Captain," one of them blurted out, "It's just… we're so happy that Starfleet finally acknowledges gay crewmembers." His partner blushed and gave him a quick hug before rushing off to his duties. The other smiled at Picard and continued on his way.

Picard smiled to himself. Finally, the legacy of Captain Kirk and Spock of Vulcan had come to fruition. And he was proud to have been a part of spinning that web… even if it had only been handing a simple book to its rightful owner.

~

Kirk had lain, dying, upon that desert rock. Veridian III was a planet that he would never forget. Picard had met a legend there, and that legend died not once, but twice, for the sake of the universe.

Captain James T. Kirk was in every history book, every Starfleet record, they'd even made training missions based on the things he had faced, the terrors he had overcome. Everyone aspired to be like Kirk, the perfect starship captain. Yet nobody really knew anything about him. Most of the people who had known him were old or dead. They all knew why he had fought, but they didn't know him personally. What he felt when he was on a mission, what thoughts he had experienced, why he had made the choices that he did.

Picard had to admit he hadn't known him either, until he'd been let into the greatest secret the universe had ever held. There, upon that bloodstained rock where Kirk's luck had finally ran out, he made a crude gesture to something in his pocket as he took his final breath. Picard looked in his uniform pocket and pulled out a small book. Opening it, he saw the words "To Spock, with love always, Jim". He flipped the page, and began to read. Soft, poetic declarations of love filled its small pages, of the love between two men, two of the most famous Starfleet officers that had ever lived.

He closed the book, and his eyes. Such secrets the universe held, secrets never to be spoken. Starfleet didn't allow openly gay officers, even now, in the 23rd century. Utopia it was not – mankind still had a long way to go.

He buried Kirk upon the mountain, making a silent promise to himself that he would find Spock and give him this book. He felt that was Kirk's final wish, even though he had not been able to communicate it in his dying words. This man had died twice for the sake of the universe. He deserved some peace in the afterlife, should there be one.

~

Spock stood at Kirk's grave, the dust of Veridian III swirling around his ankles as he stood at the grave of his love, his t'hy'la. He was dressed in his black Vulcan meditation robes, although he wore them partly because he knew black was the human colour of mourning. Picard had brought him here on the Enterprise. They were bringing Kirk's body home for a proper Starfleet funeral.

Ambassador Spock had known of Kirk's death the moment it had happened. The bond they had shared, the bond of lovers, had broken, bringing him to his knees. Although it had been weak for several years, with Kirk unreachable in the Nexus, Spock had taken comfort from the fact that he was still alive, _somewhere_ .

He had searched endlessly, in vain, of course, for the man he had loved for so long. Eventually he had given up; upon realizing that he was upon a plane of existence no one could reach. He had been comfortable with the hope that they would meet again, someday, that Kirk would emerge from the Nexus to live once more. As long as that faint flicker of their bond continued to exist, Spock could hope against logic of Kirk's return.

He never imagined that Kirk would leave the Nexus to die once again for the sake of the universe. He felt cheated, not by Kirk, but by the Nexus. Cheated out of a life they should have spent together. He had continued with life as logic dictated, working for peace, the memories of the man he loved being the driving force behind his actions. Before they were lovers, they had been the ultimate team. Spock had stood by for years as Kirk's loyal friend, watching Kirk lose woman after woman, and longing to be something more. After Spock's death and rebirth, they had given in to their feelings, but it was many years before they were able to be together. Duty always kept them separated, and then the years of their retirement had been cut short…

Spock would never forget the day that Kirk had attended the launching party of the Enterprise-B. Spock had stayed behind. Starfleet was in his past, and returning to the Enterprise only invoked bittersweet memories of happier times. He knew they could not turn back time, even if they wanted to. If he had known what would happen, he would have gone, and taken Kirk's place gladly. He could face death again, but the loss of Kirk had been far, far worse. He had found himself reminiscing on all the wasted years, wishing against logic and reason that things could have been different. It was then that he fully accepted his human side, and completed the metamorphosis that his failure at Gol and the meeting with V'ger had pushed forward. Even before that, Kirk had always encouraged him to think like a human, to _feel_ like a human. Now, Kirk wasn't around to see how far Spock had come, finally accepting of the human side of himself, instead of resisting it.

Ambassador Spock held the book close to him. Picard had given it to him, slipped it into his hands on the day he had come to personally deliver the bad news; news Spock already knew from the broken bond – James T. Kirk was truly dead. He had opened the small, leather-bound volume with trembling fingers, willing to lose control to his human side when Kirk was involved. He knew as soon as he'd read the first poem that any love he would ever have would be purely for the sake of logic and companionship; he could never love anyone whole-heartedly like he loved Jim Kirk.

He looked down upon the grave, feeling a sense of finality. Kirk was gone, dead. All the hope that he'd fostered for so long had been for nothing. Now, the only chance that he would see Kirk again was in death, and he wasn't going to be so illogical as to hope against hope again. Kirk was dead, and he had died to save so many people. Spock knew that he had done the logical thing; dying to save the many, and that brought both his Vulcan and human sides some comfort.

That human side now shed a tear – one of a precious few that Spock had ever cried. Vulcans did not cry, it was a waste of bodily fluid to them, but Spock felt nothing was wasted on his love, his Jim.

A starship battle raged overhead. The crew of the new Enterprise informed him of it, and advised him to stay on the planet. He sat down on a rock as night fell, and witnessed the battle in the skies above. He opened the book and read the first poem; a poem of their meeting, long ago, of how Kirk knew they would be close, and how they finally came to cross that barrier, letting friendship bloom into love. He read, his voice unwavering, as the battle came to a sudden close above.

He couldn't believe his eyes as he looked up from the book. Jim's grave was _glowing_ . Spock walked down the small slope as the glow subsided, to find the grave caved in and Kirk's body gone. He looked to the skies, and could only whisper, "Fascinating…"

Against all logic, Captain Kirk was out there, somewhere. On a journey all of his own. Spock longed to join him on that final mission, but he had a quest of his own to finish: to unite the Vulcans and Romulans once again. He wanted to end the bloodshed and teach the power of logic over emotion. Even though he had chosen the human path, he had witnessed the danger of full-blooded Vulcan/Romulan passion, and wished to unite them under the teachings of Surak. He had already been working on it when he felt Kirk's death, and had left to return here. He had been betrayed, he had faced much opposition, but he believed in his cause. He wanted peace between the two peoples.

"Wait for me, Jim," he whispered, as the crew from the Enterprise beamed down again. Spock explained what had happened, to shock and disbelief. Only Picard knew their secret. Only Picard truly believed what Spock said that day, about the light.

~

Despite the absence of a body, they held a Starfleet funeral with full honours. Spock was there. Dressed in his Vulcan black he took up his harp and played a melody that drew everyone close to tears. Even though they had never met Kirk, they felt him through Spock's music.

Then he began to sing, and Picard had heard the song before. It was an ancient Vulcan song about the loss of a bondmate. He wasn't the only one; others realized in that moment the truth of how close Spock and Kirk had been in life. Those at the funeral found comfort in each other's arms, felt their sorrow at the loss of something so beautiful.

It ended, and all parted. Spock left almost immediately to pursue his goal of reunification. The crew of the Enterprise returned to their ship, eager to continue on their journey, the path that Kirk had began to walk the Enterprise down, long, long ago. To journey to new places and push back the boundaries that marked known space.

Jim Kirk's memorial became overgrown with ivy as time passed, and the world went on.

~

Years passed, and James T. Kirk and the original crew of the Enterprise were nothing but legend. Ambassador Spock was the last living crewmember, and nobody had seen him for years.

Spock felt his life drawing to a close. These past years he had dedicated to bringing the worlds together, bridging the gap between Vulcan and Romulan culture, and he knew he had enough students willing to follow in his footsteps that his presence was no longer needed. No, there was something else he wanted to do before he died, something for his t'hy'la who he had lost so long ago.

He had been working on a book of poems, an answer to the book that Kirk had spent so much time writing for him. Now, he wished to return to Earth, to go to his memorial and read those poems, to put his mind at ease before he joined Kirk in death. He took the next shuttle to Earth, and nobody on Romulus questioned it. He had gone to die, and they respected that. It was only logical and honourable that he should do such a thing.

~

He found the grave, and pulled the strands of ivy from it. He traced the letters of Kirk's name with his fingers, feeling the moss that had covered the memorial over time. It had been so long since they'd touched, since he'd seen those eyes looking at him, yet his sharp Vulcan mind hadn't forgotten a thing. In recent days he had seen Kirk in his dreams, calling to him. He knew his time was near, and that Kirk was waiting for him in the afterlife. He yearned for that reunion, but he had something to do first.

He could have given his katra to any person he'd wanted – Spock didn't have to leave this existence. But he had decided, long ago, that the only person he ever wanted to be with after death was Kirk. The first time he had died, he had been younger, and he'd left his katra with McCoy so that his presence might give Kirk some comfort before his immortal spirit was returned to Vulcan, in accordance with ancient traditions. Kirk had bent the rules for him then, and attained the unattainable. He had given Spock a second chance at life, a second chance for them to be together. Now, he just wanted to rest, to be with his t'hy'la on whatever adventure he was having.

He sat beside the memorial, reciting the poetry he had written. Day after day he returned, reading every word he had written in the long years he had spent upon Romulus, and tending to the grave.

He read one of the final poems, and realized how tired he felt. He knew his time was almost up, and was glad. He could feel Kirk calling to him, through their bond that had not completely severed, even in death. He had heard of bondmates who could feel the other even after death, but he had never thought he would experience that.

Spock heard a rustling behind him, and was pulled out of his reverie. A student of the nearby Academy came out from behind the bushes, looking embarrassed and nervous.

"A…Ambassador Spock, sir?" He had a question in his eyes and nervousness in his voice. If he were wrong, he would embarrass himself in front of one of the most admired but mysterious people of the last few hundred years, Captain Kirk's right hand man. But he had to ask…

"Yes?" Spock looked at the young man. He was quite tall, with a mop of blonde hair. Spock was taken aback; he reminded him of a certain starship captain from long ago…

"Sorry to startle you, Ambassador Spock… it's just," he shifted uncomfortably, "Your poetry… is beautiful. You… you loved James Kirk, right?" He clamped his mouth shut and turned bright red, obviously embarrassed to be voicing the question.

Spock remembered when he'd been at the Starfleet Academy. He'd always wanted to learn as much as he could, was always curious about everything, and had embarrassed himself on that quest for knowledge many a time with people who were not accustomed to Vulcan curiosity. This young student couldn't cause him any harm, and besides, it was too late for the truth to cause any trouble now…

"Yes," Spock said, "I loved him, love him still. Time cannot take away those things that are most important to us. Was there something you needed?"

The student bowed his head, "Your poetry… have you ever considered publishing it? You know that Starfleet still doesn't accept gay personnel, right? Maybe your story could do good for those of us who have to keep it a secret… You and Captain Kirk were the greatest heroes of the Federation, ever! Surely after hearing about you, they'd have to change the rules!" He was embarrassed, asking such a thing of a man ten times his rank. Asking such a favour from a living legend.

"I see…" Spock said, thinking of the possible ramifications of his actions. Everyone he had known aboard the Enterprise was dead now; there was nobody that could be hurt. And if he did, a record of their love would be kept forever, and would help many people.

"It sounds like the logical thing to do," Spock replied, "I will see to it that it is done."

He rose, his black robes flowing around him. The young student felt awed at his presence, and honoured that such a man was going to share his innermost secrets with the world.

"What's your name?" Spock asked, but when he turned around, the student was gone.

"Strange…" he said aloud, raising his eyebrow, and he went to research publication.

~

Spock read the final poem at Kirk's grave the day the book was due to be released. Most people now carried books in data format, but a publisher was still needed for promotion and distribution. If the student had been right, this book needed to reach as many people as it could.

He felt so tired, and he knew he had done everything he could to leave a mark on the universe. He just wanted to go home, now, to be with Jim, to leave his body far behind…

Spock's eyes closed, and he fell into a dark, dreamless, eternal sleep.

~

"What is this?" the Commander in Chief of Starfleet said, "It's a scandal! Now everyone believes we've been oppressing homosexuals in Starfleet!"

"Sir, there are rules in Starfleet that do prohibit gay people from being open about it. Maybe we should reconsider and remove those rules. If we are to be a society that moves forward, we must first accept our own kind before reaching out to alien cultures. How can we claim to be a good race with such Draconian laws in action? Such things belonged in the 20th Century!"

The Commander in Chief pondered the situation. He'd read the book, and it had driven him to tears that the two greatest Starfleet captains that ever lived had found solace in each other's arms. Was it time for a change? Had Starfleet been wrong all along?

"See that it is done within the hour," he said, "And make sure special provision is made for couples serving together."

"Yes sir!"

~

Somewhere up above, Spock and Kirk smiled, together at last, swimming in the ocean of stars… They looked down upon their world, and saw their legacy in action. Finally, there would be no shame for couples serving together, no matter their gender.

Kirk smiled at Spock, and they drifted away, into the depths of space, where no man could ever take a starship. On an adventure to a place where no man had gone before…


End file.
